AU's and Oneshots - Walk the Line
by HufflepuffFilth
Summary: Just a collection of my AU's and Oneshots from my story Walk the Line.
1. Wendy and Mabel - HurtComfort

**Whoo! First oneshot within this collection! Please enjoy!**

 _ **This is a companion to my Walk the Line fic, so please, if you are clicking into this story for the first time, read that first or none of this will make sense!**_

 _ **Also, if you**_ **hav _e read Walk the Line, I am currently in the process of changing Stanley to Grunkle Stan, and Stanford to Author Stan, so these AU's and Oneshots will all refer to Author Stan as Stan_ford.**

 **Chapters will usually vary from 1,000 - 2,000 words.**

 ** _Setting: The chapter the scene takes place within._**

 ** _Characters: Major characters within the chapter._**

 ** _P.O.V?: Who's point of view the chapter is in._**

 ** _AU?: Is the story compliant with the Walk the Line universe?_**

 ** _Chapter Type: What type of chapter is it? (e.g. Angst, Hurt/Comfort etc.)_**

 **Disclaimer: I don't own Gravity Falls.**

* * *

Setting: Chapter 26

Characters: Wendy and Mabel

P.O.V?: Wendy

AU?: No. Set firmly within the context of the WtL universe.

Chapter Type: Hurt/Comfort

"I just worry about him, you know?"

Mabel shrugged her shoulders a little, her voice uncharacteristically quiet. She and Wendy were sitting outside on the steps at the front of the shop, Mabel looking out into the woods with a pinched expression, and Wendy watching Mabel with worry on her face.

She knew this must be really digging at her.

Wendy threw an arm across Mabel's shoulders. "C'mon, man, cheer up! I mean, I know he's been acting kinda weird lately, but he's a boy, and boy's go through these weird stages where they-"

"Get all awkward and sweaty and stuff?" Mabel interrupted, fiddling with her sweater. "Yeah. I know. But this is _different._ Dipper doesn't act like this. It's not...he doesn't act like such a...such a _poophead_ \- have you heard him, lately? All he does is spit and curse and _argh!_ It drives me insane!" She lay backwards, sighing.

Wendy said nothing, because she _knew._ She knew where Mabel was coming from. It wasn't even the swearing, because that was just a teenager thing.

It was in the way he looked at people, the way he acted and walked and just his whole demeanor. He was way _way_ different from how he used to be - hell, even _Soos_ was noticing.

Sometimes when Dipper was working in the shop, and he didn't think anyone was looking, his whole _everything_ would totally change. Little things at first, that only really fuzzed the edges of the 'something's goin' on here' part of her brain, such as how he'd start to get really fidgety towards the end of the day, constantly watching the clock as they shut up shop, as if there was something he was better off doing.

Then, things started to get more...obvious. More outright.

When customers took too long in the gift shop, she could barely stand next to him. He'd tick back and forth on his feet, always shuffling and fidgeting, with this quiet anger bubbling underneath this stern, almost hateful expression on his face. He'd glare at the customers as if he could burn a hole through their head, as his hands curled into fists so tight his knuckles turned white.

The first time she'd actually taken notice, she'd been kinda surprised (okay, totally surprised. She'd been super shocked to see how much rage her little friend contained in that scrawny awkwardness). Before she could say anything, however, he'd brushed past her and up to the customer, the hatred on his face twisting into a sneaky smirk that would have been a pleasant and welcoming smile to anyone who hadn't seen how he'd looked beforehand. Even the way he _walked_ seemed to change - like he'd suddenly just exploded into confidence.

It just hadn't screamed 'Dipper' to her. She didn't know where the kid who could barely say two words to get had gone, but he sure as hell hadn't been in the a Mystery Shack.

But somehow, amazingly, he'd managed to sweet talk the customer into buying so much Mystery Shack crap, that Stan had literally been _rolling_ in money. He made more from the one customer than he made in the whole rest of the week.

And then of course, there was the time they'd walked back to the Shack from the swimming hole together.

It had actually been kinda terrifying, how vicious he'd gotten.

...but she didn't really like thinking about that, because no matter how hard she tried, she couldn't put any of it down to testosterone.

So... _yeah._

She understood.

Wendy pulled her feet up closer to her chest, wriggling her toes in her boots as she closed her eyes.

Scuffing feet made them shoot open again as Mabel stood up beside her abruptly, taking off away from the Shack.

Wendy shot up after her, confusion writing itself across her face.

"Mabel? Mabel!"

The girl ignored her, racing off towards the town.

Swearing, she ran over to her bike, jumping onto it and cycling after her younger friend

"Mabel, what the hell?"

"I know...where Dipper...might be!" She said breathlessly.

"What...? How-"

"Twin...stinct!"

Well. Wendy couldn't argue with _that_ logic.

* * *

They'd found a lot of crap at the junkyard, but there hadn't been a single thing to tell them Dipper had been there. Mabel had been devastated - she'd really thought she'd be onto something.

"Maybe I just don't know him as well as I used too," Mabel said as she flopped down onto her bed, pulling a brown teddy bear into her arms from amongst her pile of stuffed toys.

"Aw, c'mon, Mabel, don't say that. You and Dipper are like, _inseparable._ It's like I said - he's probably just going through teenaged boy stuff. You know; testosterone and angst. He could probably write his own Shakespeare tragedy, man. I mean - we'll be calling him _Robbie_ soon if we aren't careful."

Mabel let out a light laugh, voice muffled by the bear pressed against her face.

 _"Ew."_

Wendy felt a bit better, hearing her normally exuberant friend laugh. It was weird when Mabel was upset. It was just a thing that didn't happen.

A quick rap of knuckles on the door made the pair of them look up. Stanford pushed his way into the room, clearing his throat. "Wendy; Stan wants you down to work the shop. Mabel - why don't you come work down in the basement with me? Get your mind off things."

Wendy felt her shoulders sag with relief. Stanford always knew how to get Mabel's mind off things. She didn't know him all that well, but she trusted him.

Mabel pulled herself up and hugged Wendy tight. She sniffed into the older girl's neck.

"Thank you," she said, before pulling away to smile at her great uncle.

Wendy stood and smiled slightly at Stanford, then made her way downstairs quickly.

Things'd sort themselves out, just like they always did.

That was the thing with the Pines family; they had the rottenness luck in the world, but when push came to shove, they always seemed to come out unscathed.

They were lucky in the unluckiest way, that was for sure.

And she really didn't envy them.

* * *

 **Thank you for reading - feel free to send a request for a chapter, and I'll make sure to write it!**


	2. Mabel - Angst (Sorta Family?)

_**This is a companion to my Walk the Line fic, so please, if you are clicking into this story for the first time, read that first or none of this will make sense!**_

 _ **Also, if you**_ **hav _e read Walk the Line, I am currently in the process of changing Stanley to Grunkle Stan, and Stanford to Author Stan, so these AU's and Oneshots will all refer to Author Stan as Stan_ford.**

 **Chapters will usually vary from 1,000 - 2,000 words.**

 ** _Setting: The chapter the scene takes place within._**

 ** _Characters: Major characters within the chapter._**

 ** _P.O.V?: Who's point of view the chapter is in._**

 ** _AU?: Is the story compliant with the Walk the Line universe?_**

 ** _Chapter Type: What type of chapter is it? (e.g. Angst, Hurt/Comfort etc.)_**

 **Feel free to follow me at FilthyMallards on Tumblr! If you send me a headcannon, I'll write up a quick fic for it! (Though if I am already typing it up as a chapter for , I will say so!)**

 **Disclaimer: I don't own Gravity Falls.**

* * *

Setting: Post Epilogue

Characters: Mabel

P.O.V?: Mabel

AU?: No. Set firmly within the context of the WtL universe.

Chapter Type: Angst (Sorta kinda family?)

It was warm, under the blankets - a cocoon of warmth that embraced every muscle and bone within her body. Too good to leave - perfect and warm and cozy.

And an incessant hand kept trying to _tug them off of her._

"Mom! Mooom! Mommy? Mom? Mom, Mom, Mom!"

Mabel let out a loud groan, and the hand started tugging hard. When she curled up tighter, feet gave her a sharp kick as they scrambled up onto the bed. Not even a moment later, she was being hit on the head by a squealing child that didn't seem to understand the concept of _sleep._

"Mooooom! Mommy!"

"Baby, shhhh. Mommy's sleeping," she slurred, slowly opening an eye. All she could see was the dark blue of her duvet.

"No! You lie! Mommy, up time! Up time, Mommy!"

The bed started to jolt as her son started to jump up and down, squealing and laughing.

Grumbling, Mabel pulled herself up, and emerged from within her chrysalis - though a butterfly was by no means anywhere to be found. She tugged a hand through her knotted haired, untangling the birds nest as best she could before giving up and running her hand down her face.

 _Ah. I'm gonna need a shower._

"Mabel, sweetheart, you're going to have to give him some attention. He has something to give you."

Her head turned to the doorway where her husband stood with a tray of pancakes and coffee, smiling a kind, pleasant smile. She hadn't noticed him get out of bed - usually he was snoring, completely dead to the world, when she woke up.

"You must be some kind of god," she stated as he sat the tray down on the bedside table, sitting next to her.

"Boop," she said, pushing his wire glasses up the bridge of his nose.

"Boop!" Her son yelled, falling onto her lap with a laugh. He waved two little hands in the air, one of them clutching a small present, wrapped neatly in hot pink wrapping paper, with a fluorescent green bow to match.

She let out an overly loud gasp of surprise that seemed to please the brown haired child. "And what on _earth_ do you have in your hand, you little rapscallion?!" She wondered as he sat up, holding the gift out to her.

"Happy birthday!" He squealed, waving it in her face before dropping it.

"For me? Aw, Bub, you shouldn't have!" She held the box up to her face, eyeing it carefully, before grinning and tearing it open.

A little box, like the one her husband had presented her engagement ring in when he'd proposed to her. She carefully pulled open the lid, hearing herself let out a soft laugh when she saw the plain silver ring, with their wedding vows etched into it.

"You gigantic dork. This is beautiful," she scolded her husband. He gave her a lopsided smile as she slipped the ring on her middle finger, next to the finger adorned with a simple gold band. She ruffled her son's hair, and he laughed. "And _you,_ Mr. Munchkin. My knight in shining armor. Thank you very much for your kind deed, ever so much!"

"I'M KING ARTHUR!" He shouted, kissing his mother cheeks and then jumping off the bed, hand raised as if he was carrying a sword as he raced out of the room.

Mabel looked at her husband, who just laughed softly as their son vanished out the door.

"Seriously, though. It's absolutely beautiful. Thank you...for making this." Her voice was soft as she spoke, and she spun the ring around her finger, smiling.

"We'll be away for the day. I'm taking 'King Arthur' over here to the zoo, and then the movies. We'll be back by about four. Is that okay?" He asked as he took her hands, rubbing his thumbs over her knuckles.

"You truly are a superhero," she murmured. They pressed their lips together in a chaste kiss before he stood up.

"Text me if you need any longer, okay?"

"Okay. Love you."

"Love you too, Mabel." He left the room, closing the door behind him with a quiet click.

Then, there was silence - save for the ticking of the clock that was soft, yet unbearable in the stillness. She looked at the food on the bedside table, grabbing the tray and placing it carefully on her lap.

Mostly she toyed with her meal, pushing the pancakes around the plate and occasionally sipping her hot chocolate. She channel surfed for a while, turning the volume down when she heard the car engine start up and pull out of the driveway. When she caught sight of the black vehicle taking off down the street, she flicked the TV off, set the tray back on the table, and slid out of bed.

Today, she allowed herself to mourn. Today, she allowed a years worth of pent up grief and anger and sadness loose.

Every other day, she was Mabel; just-turned-twenty-five year old fashion mogul; wife and mother.

But today was _different._

Today, she was Mabel; thirteen year old sweater wearing teen; sister and griever.

And that was okay.

One day - that was all she needed. Maybe it was a little odd, choosing her birthday of all days to feel like... _this,_ but what else was she supposed to do?

It wasn't like she could phone him, or drop by for a visit.

So this day - _their_ day, was the most she could think to give her brother in recompense for the sacrifices he made.

Mabel grabbed her robe, pulling it on over her shoulders and tying the belt. Stuffing her feet into a pair of slippers, she padded quietly over to the closet and pulled it open.

Inside sat an innocent brown box.

Bending down, Mabel pulled it towards her, pushing open the clasp and lifting the lid.

As soon as she saw the contents, her stomach clenched, and her throat tightened, for inside was a small, tattered notebook, and a dirty pine tree hat.

It was all that she'd dared to keep of his belongings.

Mabel let out a slow breath of air, sitting down and crossing her legs beneath her as she took out the cap and book.

She didn't like to relive her memories of receiving the gift. It was...bittersweet to say the least. On one hand, some very nice fairies had presented them to her on her arrival to Gravity Falls, several years prior, and claiming that they were to be gifted to her.

But on the other...

 _Well._

There was definitely more bitter than sweet, at any rate.

Mabel pulled the cap on backwards, the bill of the truckers hat at the back of her head, and then picked up the notebook. Her hands - rough and scarred from needle pricks and sewing mishaps - were gentle and kind to the torn up book.

Flipping it open every so gently, running her fingers down the spine, she looked at the first page.

' _Journal 1 - Dipper Pines,'_ it said, emblazoned with a pine tree beneath it. She flipped past the few pages written about fairies and trolls, stopping instead on the symbols drawn in thereafter.

A wheel with Bill in the centre, and several different pictograms drawn around him. Across the that, there was a drawing of each image, with a single name beside it.

 _'Shooting Star - Mabel Pines._

 _Pine Tree - Me.'_

She recognised the symbols for what they were.

She recognised them as pure evil.

When she had first received the book, the first thing she had planned on doing was finding out just _how_ to cast a spell, and then summoning the _hell_ out of Bill - because she just knew that wherever Bill went, her brother was sure to follow.

But she had quickly squashed that thought into non-existence, because _what if only Bill came back? What if it didn't even work? What if she screwed up and brought upon the apocalypse? What if she nulled her brother's sacrifice, and messed everything up? What if he wasn't the same?_

Mabel gave herself a shake, flipping to the next pages. It was here that the tone of the pages changed abruptly - the pages scarred with a star's teardrops, and imbued with a fierce tone of sorrow.

The writing was swift, tight, and neat - written in spidery cursive like scars on skin.

Her brothers, yet not.

' _Mabel. If you're reading this, I'm going to assume you're older now - at least eighteen, if the fae have done as I asked. You must hate me, at least somewhat. You can't begin to imagine how much I love you, and how proud I am of you. You're so strong - stronger than I could ever be, and you're going to do so much. You really are a shooting star, burning brighter than all the rest.'_

Mabel cleared her throat. It was always that part that got her started, that got the tears flowing. It was just like her _doofus_ of a brother.

' _I haven't a clue what will happen to me, to be honest. It's really quite sad, not to know ones own future, when one knows so many. But I will survive, and live on, because I know that you are, too. Time will be strange within the dimension - I don't know how long forever will be, but I am sure it will stretch on long after you are dead._

 _But I'm getting distracted, aren't I? Knowing lots of things does that, you see. It feels like those little wooden toys we used to play with when we were younger, the ones with the slots for the correct shapes - you know the ones.'_

Of course she did. She remembered trying to shove the circle through the square.

' _Well, it's like there are all these holes into my skull, and the knowledge is squeezing itself into my brain. I hope that makes sense to you._

 _Mabel. Do me favor._

 _Don't try to obtain the unattainability of knowledge._

 _All it will do is drive you into insanity._

 _I don't have a lot of time to write this. But please,_ please _, just remember to keep your head up. To live on. To shoot high into the sky and let everyone see just how bright you are. Remember that no matter how far away I am, I'll always be looking out for you. Remember just_ how much _I love you, Mabes. You're the best sister I could have ever hoped for.'_

Mabel let out a little sniffle, looking skywards in an attempt to not cry.

"You big dumb dumb," she said softly, shaking her head as she rubbed furiously at her eyes.

Pulling herself up and hugging the book close to her chest, Mabel walked out of the bedroom and down the long hallway, looking at the photos on the walls.

Photos of herself, of her husband, and of her son adorned the walls. Photos of days at the beach, on holiday, and just sitting at home. She stopped for a moment to look at the framed photo of Grunkle Stan and Great Uncle Ford, her smile sad but fond, before taking the photo beside it off of the wall.

She only had one photo of her brother in the house - a photo they'd taken just before they'd returned to Gravity Falls that summer all those years ago. From what she could see of the background, she could tell they were on the bus. She was holding up the camera, a gigantic grin on her face, and she could just see the sweater she was wearing in the image. She recognized it as one of her Waddles-dedicated sweaters.

Beside her sat Dipper, smiling that strained smile he always put on when he got caught in photographs, his eyes cast in the direction of the window, and the bags under his eyes ever present.

Mabel hugged the photo to her chest, clutching both book and frame so tight her knuckles went white. Pressing her back against the wall and sliding to the ground, she considered that shower again.

 _Ah, screw it._

It wasn't like she had anywhere to go, anyway. She never took appointments today, and her whole company knew it. Last time someone had tried to get her to come in to see a new design for one of the fall collections, she'd fired them on the spot (of course, she'd hired them back afterwards, but that didn't make the situation any better).

She sighed softly, breath feather light.

Moving on was hard.

Moving on...it was the hardest thing she'd ever had to do - and she knew it was never something she would do in its entirety, because moving on completely meant forgetting, and forgetting meant disregarding her brother's last, final wish.

And she was okay with that. With her one day of pain, amongst the 364 others. (Leap years be damned!)

She was okay, knowing her brother was watching her, wherever he was. It was comforting knowing that after all of this time, through the pleasure and the pain, the breakups and makeups, he was there.

She was _okay._ Just okay.

And honestly? She was fine with just being that.

* * *

 **Thank you for reading - feel free to send a request for a chapter, and I'll make sure to write it!**

 **This was requested some time ago, and I have FINALLY FINISHED IT.**

 **The next chapter up will be an AU event (how it is AU will be explained in the chapter).**


	3. Stanford's Thoughts - Angst, Drama

_**This is a companion to my**_ _ **Walk the Line**_ _ **fic, so please, if you are clicking into this story for the first time, read that first or none of this will make sense!**_

 _ **Also, if you**_ **hav** ** _e read_** ** _Walk the Line_** ** _, I am currently in the process of changing Stanley to Grunkle Stan, and Stanford to Author Stan, so these AU's and Oneshots will all refer to Author Stan as Stan_** **ford.**

 **Chapters will usually vary from 1,000 - 2,000 words.**

 ** _Setting: The chapter the scene takes place within._**

 ** _Characters: Major characters within the chapter._**

 ** _P.O.V?: Who's point of view the chapter is in._**

 ** _AU?: Is the story compliant with the_** ** _Walk the Line_** ** _universe?_**

 ** _Chapter Type: What type of chapter is it? (e.g. Angst, Hurt/Comfort etc.)_**

 **Feel free to follow me at FilthyMallards on Tumblr! If you send me a headcannon, I'll write up a quick fic for it! (Though if I am already typing it up as a chapter for , I will say so!)**

 **Disclaimer: I don't own Gravity Falls.**

* * *

Setting: Throughout the story.

Characters: Stanford, Stanley, Mabel, Dipper

P.O.V?: Stanford

AU?: No. Set firmly within the context of the WtL universe.

Chapter Type: Angst, Drama

(P.S sorry for mistakes in this one I haven't proofread it - I just wanted to get it up.)

"The boy can't be trusted," Stanford said as the blue and white bus pulled out of the station. Stanley stood beside him, his jaw clenched and watching the bus as it headed off down the road. He lifted his hand in a wave, not dropping his arm until the bus disappeared from sight. After a moment, he heaved a sigh and looked at his brother.

"He's our great nephew, Ford. You can't seriously think that."

"Don't give me that look! I'm not paranoid! I know an untrustworthy face when I see one!" He argued vehemently as Stanley shook his head in disagreement.

"He's just a kid."

"That's all good and true, but _you're_ the one who had a rivalry with a child."

"Hey! I'll have you know that Gideon was a criminal mastermind who deserved everything he got!" Stanley shot back.

Stanford shook his head and paced. Stanley was useless – completely blinded to Dipper Pines' _true_ nature, because he couldn't see past the 'Great nephew' act.

But he knew better.

Really, he didn't know what tipped him off about the boy – maybe it was just his overall attitude that bothered him. He was quiet, more of a listener – _a plotter_ – than most children (a sharp contrast to his twin), and although he hadn't really seen it himself, he could tell there was a temper boiling beneath the calm facade.

"I've lived with him all summer, Ford," Stanley continued gruffly. "You've known him for not even a week." He shook his head, crossing his arms over his chest. "Look – if you actually got to know him, you'd realize that you're like two peas in a pod."

"I just don't _trust_ him, Stan."

"You spent way to long in that portal, poindexter. Next you'll be saying you don't trust me."

"Well you _did_ take my name."

"A necessary evil."

Stanford sent him a look of annoyance. " _Anyway-"_

"No, Ford. You need to give him a chance. After this mess gets sorted out, and we have our shit together, I'm letting them come back for the summer, and you're going to _be nice to him._ Do you hear me?"

"It's my house! You can't just-"

"Watch me."

Stanford clenched his teeth together, taking a deep breath.

"Fine. But he gets _one chance."_ With any luck Stanley would forget

"That's all I ask, Ford. Let's go."

The year passed relatively quickly, what with all of the rebuilding of the Shack and the explaining of…well… _himself,_ and too soon, Stanley was telling him that Dipper and Mabel would be returning to Gravity Falls for the summer.

Stanford didn't like the idea at all, but he kept it to himself because he'd promised his brother he would try.

When the two twins arrived, Mabel came screaming off of the bus and was simply a flurry of excitement. That girl just didn't know how to restrain herself, and as he watched her hug Stanley tight, he couldn't help but smile.

Dipper stepped off of the bus more hesitantly. He looked wary - uncomfortable in his own skin, almost. He didn't seem to be focusing on anything in particular, his face pinched in an unreadable expression as he looked aimlessly around.

Stanford cleared his throat, scratching the back of his head. "It's good to see you, Dipper. You…uh…you look well."

The boy's head jerked upwards and for a beat he looked like he was going to run away before it vanished and confusion knit his brows together. "U-uhm…thanks?"

Stanford looked at Mabel and Stanley, who were grinning like a pair of Cheshire cats. He could feel the kids gaze on him, unwavering and unblinking. "I er...I haven't forgotten what I said to you last year," he said, rubbing the back of his neck as he looked back down at his grandnephew. Finally, Dipper blinked up at him, as if giving him the cue to continue.

"You're just a kid. Too smart for your own good, but still just a kid. I'm sorry, if that's worth anything to you at all. But you know-"

"-trust no one. Yeah. I know," Dipper interrupted quietly. He shoved his hands into the pockets of his vest, looking at the floor and scuffing his shoe. Finally, he looked back up, smiling. "You honestly have no idea how crazy I've been going not being able to ask you any questions," he said. "Like, seriously, I had this whole list of questions that I wrote last time I was here, and just..." His smile widened. "It's awesome. Really. Thank you."

Stanford found it in himself to muster a small smile back as Dipper followed Mabel and Stanley into the shack.

The kid was…too much like him, he decided. Maybe that was why he didn't trust him.

He shook himself of his thoughts, following his family back into the shack. He guess only time would be able to tell if his beliefs were misplaced.

* * *

Slowly, time trickled on, and with it, Dipper began to drift further and further away from Mabel and the rest of his family. Stanford found it all too suspicious, considering how close the two were. He'd begun to notice the boy had a tendency to sneak out, and his excuse as to how he got out the two story window without plummeting to the ground just didn't add up. Maybe if he was a little more athletic, but…no way did he have the strength or balance required to perform the little stint he was proposing.

But really, the biggest giveaway wasn't even that. It was the _attitude._ Dipper's voice when he told Stanley that 'he was out' stood out to him. It was cocky and impatient in a way it hadn't been before, and even though he abruptly changed his tone amidst his and Stanley's argument as to how he'd gotten out of the house, he could practically taste the falsity of his words.

Dipper positively swaggered up the steps to the shack and past him, a lilt to his step that hadn't been there before. Stanford had caught his eyes briefly, and while he was most assured that it was indeed Dipper that he was face to face with, it was a…warped version of him, for sure. There was _something_ just under the surface that he was missing, he knew. Something big.

And that wasn't all.

The boy was slowly growing little _ticks_ that set Stanford on edge, like the way he'd laugh at things that were decidedly _not funny –_ a screaming baby came to mind – and the quick remarks that were more mean than witty. They were all tiptoeing around Dipper's changing personality, and if he didn't know any better he'd assume the boy was revelling in all of the attention.

But he _did_ know better, because as soon as Mabel brought it up (she was the only one who dared to really broach the subject), he'd get this odd look on his face, and his hands would clench up into fists, and he'd apologize – and then he'd be fine for the next few days.

And then the cycle would start all over again, never ending.

Part of him dared to think that accursed name that seemed to be a part of everything that happened to him now.

 _Bill._

But surely Dipper wasn't stupid enough to make a deal with him? Mabel had told him about her sock opera and how close Bill had come to destroying his Journal, so if Dipper was as smart as he seemed, surely he wouldn't be idiotic enough to make another?

He pushed the thought to the back of his mind and as far out of reach as he could, but no matter what it continued to linger.

Maybe…just maybe he wasn't wrong.

He couldn't sleep well after that.

* * *

"How long till we know, Great Uncle Ford?" Mabel asked, peering over the countertop at the device that was checking the blood sample from the knife she had given to him.

"Not too much longer," he said, his eyes narrowed and his mouth pulled down into a frown.

He really hoped he was wrong.

He really really did.

Stanley was shifting through his things, looking at different files and flipping through them as the machine worked to figure out the blood crusted on the knife. He glanced back at it and them occasionally, looking unsettled.

Truthfully, both he and his brother had a good idea as to whose blood was on the knife, though he didn't know if Stanley only knew the information subconsciously or not – he didn't think his twin consciously thought Dipper capable of doing something so...immoral.

The machine beeped loudly at them, and all three eyes snapped back to it as the little screen atop the machine started to build up an image.

A medical record slowly loaded up courtesy of the local hospitals database, the black screen becoming pixels as a familiar name formed at the top of the screen.

 _Dipper Pines._

Stanford stepped back from the machine, not surprised. Stanley just looked from the image and towards him, then back and forth again until he seemed to start getting the message.

"I don't understand," he said.  
"I suspected for a while…but I wasn't able to get the evidence until I hacked into the hospital server."

Stanley just shook his head, eyes casting down at Mabel.

She hadn't moved an inch, her brown eyes pinned to the device in utter disbelief. Her mouth opened and shut, no noise escaping her lips other than confused breaths of air.

"Mabel?" Stanley broached.

"This…Dipper wouldn't do _this_ , Grunkle Stan. I mean…he's not afraid to cheat to get his way, but…he wouldn't do this."

"The evidence doesn't lie, Mabel," Stanford said.

"But I don't- _Dipper."_

Stanford and Stanley spun around at the tone of her voice, her face pale white, like she'd seen a ghost.

Dipper stood at the elevator entrance, an unreadable expression on his face. Stanford pushed Mabel behind him. Dipper's eyes flickered first to Stanley, then to Stanford, assessing them both before they locked onto Mabel's face as she peeked around the side of his leg to look at her brother.

"…Mabel," he said. Stanford bristled at the coolness of his tone, cold like ice. Not good. This wasn't good at all.

"You performed the ritual on the ghost, didn't you?" He spoke up as Dipper's eyes slid up to him, watching as they narrowed dangerously.

Dipper seemed to weigh his options as he looked back at Mabel. He could feel her shaking her head slowly, like she was begging he say no.

"I did," he finally said, a note a pride in his voice.

"No…no, Dipper, you didn't…please tell me you didn't. You said you didn't know what happened. You told me…"

Stanford tried to hide Mabel's face from Dipper as his mouth spread up into a savage grin, blue flames exploding around his hands.

 _I was right. I_ knew _it!_

"You made a deal with him. You made a deal with Cipher, didn't you?" Stanford asked as they all took a step backwards. His eyes didn't once leave the flames emanating from Dipper's clenched fists. The boy shrugged nonchalantly, the smile not leaving his face as he took a step closer to them. "Is it that obvious? And here I was thinking I was being _sneaky_." He laughed nastily, seemingly reveling in the way he was making them squirm.

"I knew there was something off about you lately. I could tell," Stanley said, gripping onto Mabel's shoulder tight.

"Pine Tree, right? You're the pine tree on the wheel?" He asked. The soft sound Dipper made in agreement was all he needed to confirm that the boy knew what the wheel meant.

 _Uh oh._

Stanford winced as the fire in Dipper's hand burned a solid white for a moment before returning to its solid blue. He laughed at them, stepping another step closer to them. Stanford's eyes were drawn to the knife twirling in his hand, fingers moving fondly over the handle. "But let's discuss that another time, shall we? I think, _my_ _dear great uncle,_ that we both know I have more important matters to deal with."

And then a knife was flying at him without a moment's notice, the slash of silver aimed right for his chest.

* * *

 **Thank you for reading - feel free to send a request for a chapter, and I'll make sure to write it!**

 **This was requested some time ago, and I have FINALLY FINISHED IT.**

 **P.S. GUYS I AM SORRY BUT I WILL NOT WRITE A CHAPTER OF DIPPER COMING BACK OUT OF THE PORTAL - FEEL FREE TO WRITE YOUR OWN IF YOU WANT TO BUT I DUNNO IT JUST FEELS LIKE A COP-OUT TO ME? SORRY!**


	4. Mabel - Angst, Drama

_**This is a companion to my**_ _ **Walk the Line**_ _ **fic, so please, if you are clicking into this story for the first time, read that first or none of this will make sense!**_

 _ **Also, if you**_ **hav** ** _e read_** ** _Walk the Line_** ** _, I have changed Stanley to Grunkle Stan, and Stanford to Author Stan, so these AU's and Oneshots will all refer to Author Stan as Stan_** **ford.**

 **Chapters will usually vary from 1,000 - 2,000 words.**

 ** _Setting: The chapter the scene takes place within._**

 ** _Characters: Major characters within the chapter._**

 ** _P.O.V?: Who's point of view the chapter is in._**

 ** _AU?: Is the story compliant with the_** ** _Walk the Line_** ** _universe?_**

 ** _Chapter Type: What type of chapter is it? (e.g. Angst, Hurt/Comfort etc.)_**

 **Feel free to follow me at FilthyMallards on Tumblr! If you send me a headcannon, I'll write up a quick fic for it! (Though if I am already typing it up as a chapter for, I will say so!)**

 **This chapter is dedicated to eltigre221. It has been a long time coming, and I am seriously awful, I know. She really wanted a chapter where they all went into Dipper's mindscape, but I didn't know how to make it fit within the story. So; here the chapter is!**

 **You really have to look at this event as being separate from the other events in the story. If you are trying to read it as if it is part of the story, it won't make any sense!**

 **Disclaimer: I don't own Gravity Falls.**

* * *

Setting: Not _Walk the Line_ compliant

Characters: Stanford, Stanley, Mabel, Dipper

P.O.V?: Mabel

AU?: Most definitely

Chapter Type: Angst, Drama

Mabel rubbed her arms, teeth chattering against the cold wind that buffeted against her face. Great Uncle Ford walked ahead of her. She could only see his back retreating into the shadows of the trees, flickering in and out of her sight as he went ahead. Grunkle Stan's hand rest firmly on her shoulder, a silent reassurance that things would work out okay.

But it wasn't enough to snuff out the fear and worry tearing at her heart.

"Grunkle Stan…"

"Hm?"

"Is Dipper going to be okay?" She croaked out, lifting her head to look at him. She could feel the tears welling in her eyes. It seemed like crying was all she'd been doing lately.

Crying over her anger, crying over her sadness, crying at Dipper, crying _for_ Dipper.

Just _crying._

Mabel gave her eyes a rub, sniffing. Grunkle Stan let out a sigh.

"I'm not good with all of this…supernatural mumbo-jumbo, Mabel. You should ask Ford."

Mabel looked down at her shoes.

She didn't want to ask Ford. It wasn't that she was _mad_ at her Great Uncle – he was a good person, and his heart was in the right place, but…but maybe if he'd given Dipper a _chance,_ he'd have seen what a great person he was.

And maybe this wouldn't have happened.

Swallowing thickly, Mabel tried to push away the sudden onslaught of imagery in her mind. The way Ford had cornered her brother in the underground laboratory after he'd returned from…from _wherever_ he'd been – how surprised he'd been when he realized he'd been caught.

Mabel felt herself flinch, and she cuddled up closer to her Grunkle.

Because that hadn't even been the worst part. No, it had been the look of utter betrayal on his face that had cut her into pieces. The way he'd looked at her, like he'd expected that she could trust him; that _she_ could save him.

But she hadn't.

She _hadn't._

"Is Great Uncle Ford gonna hurt Dipper?"

Grunkle Stan stopped, bending down and looking at her. "I won't let him harm a hair on that kids head. I promise."

Mabel faintly smiled at him. He hoisted her up so she was sitting up on his shoulders.

"Don't pop a hip, Grunkle Stan."

"Fight me," he retorted as he quickened his pace to catch up with Ford.

Mabel stared ahead of her. All she could see was Dipper's face in her head; the way his brows had risen and his eyes had widened. How his mouth had fallen open, and the smallest, strangled sound had escaped.

Then the way his brows furrowed down, expression setting into stone. How his mouth had clamped back shut for only the briefest seconds before he'd exploded out with a laugh like nothing she'd ever heard – no…a laugh like _Bill's_. How he'd lifted his head to shout, "I'm done!"

Then, the way he'd collapsed to the ground like he was falling into a coma; the closing of his eyes, the tiny smile that persisted on his face.

And maybe he was in a coma – a magically induced one.

One thing she knew for certain; Dipper's mindscape was cold. Terrible cold.

And it was nothing like she'd expected it to be. The whole place was a fear ridden, nightmare inducing monstrosity. The trees grabbed at them like clawed little fingers, the wind whistled _horrible_ things into her ears; things she'd done, things she _should_ do, things that…she would have never expected to come from her brothers mind.

This whole place was so vastly different to Grunkle Stan's that she could scarcely believe they were both mindscapes.

Grunkle Stan swore under his breath as he tripped over a root, stopping when Ford yelled out to them, "Stanley! Mabel! Over here!"

He shook his foot out of the root and started running in the direction of his voice. Mabel grimaced as she was jolted around, ducking down so the trees didn't pull at her hair. Grunkle Stan panted as he came to a stop beside Ford.

Mabel swallowed thickly at the sight in front of her.

They were standing at the top of a hill that jolted down quickly, a mist shadowing the bottom.

Or, what she _thought_ was the bottom – it was hard to tell.

Confusion clouded her mind, but a sudden sound from the bottom caught her attention - a swearing voice that sounded just like her brother.

"Dipper!" She cried, jumping down from Grunkle Stan's shoulders and taking off down the hill.

"Mabel! Mabel, wait!" She heard her two Great Uncle's shout down after her. She scrambled down the steep hill, her breathing panicked as she lost her footing. She fell down, flipping the rest of the way to the bottom. Her head banged against the ground as she hit the bottom, pain filled every inch of her body. A groan escaped her mouth. Her mind fogged up, vision blurring like a something had been placed over her eyes. Looking down, Mabel saw four of her own feet; two clear, two slipping in and out of view as she squelched mud underneath them.

"Oh…yeesh," she groaned.

"Need help?"

Her head snapped up, and she squeezed her eyes shut as pain laced through her temples. Touching the left one made her wince. "D-Dipper?" She could see two of her brother looking down at her as she lay in the mud. He had his hand held out to her, a frown on his face.

"Are you okay?"

"Yeah…I think so," she mumbled, taking his hand. He pulled her up, letting go as she regained her balance and shoving his hands into the pockets of his shorts.

"A-Are _you_ okay?" She said, looking at him.

He didn't reply for a long moment, gazing blankly through the trees. She was just waiting for him to snap at her, to turn around with bright yellow eyes and black slits for pupils.

"…Dipper?" She prompted.

"I'm fine," he said quickly, almost cutting her off. He wouldn't meet her gaze. "I'm fine." His arms crossed over his chest. Mabel watched his jaw work, waiting for him to continue talking, and talk he did. "I'm so sorry, Mabel. For…all of this. I just wanted to protect you."

"I don't understand," she all but whispered, tears filling her eyes. He looked like he was in so much pain. "Dipper, tell me what's going on. Tell me _everything."_

Her brother breathed in deeply, turning to face her.

Before he could say anything else, she was being rudely yanked away from him and behind Great Uncle Ford. The old man's face was set in a protective fury. Grunkle Stan's body was tensed up, shoulders squared like he was going to have to fight.

They weren't really considering hurting her _brother_ were they?

"You stay away from Mabel, boy," Stanford said.

Dipper stepped away from Stanford like a frightened animal. His jaw clenched, and he held his hands up. "Look, man, just…chill out. Let me explain-"

"Chill out? _Chill out?_ After what you've done? After you joined sides with Bill!"

"Let me _expain-"_

"I don't need you to explain! You're evil! You're a demon!" Mabel watched her brother flinch at every insult. "You're as bad as Bill - heck, you're _worse_ than Bill is! How could you-"

Dipper's face suddenly twisted, and despite the rage he presented on his face, she could read the pain he was masking. "You wouldn't understand!" He snarled. "You don't love your brother like I love Mabel!"

"You're a _monster,_ Dipper."

Mabel's breath lurched in her throat, and she could tell by the expression on Dipper's face that his did too. She watched him, watched the different emotions that trickled across his face. With growing horror, she saw the way his hands shook, starting to twitch as blue flame consumed them. Dipper's mouth wobbled like he might cry, but instead he cracked a smile. All three of them stepped away from Dipper as he started to laugh that awfully cruel _Bill_ laugh again, his body lifting up off the ground as he was completely surrounded by burning blue fire. His eyes glowed a piercing white, so white that she had to hide her own face from him. His madness filtered into her ears and straight out the other.

She didn't want to accept that this was her brother. She didn't want to accept that for the first time in her life, Mabel felt terrified of him. A real and true terror.

Her brother was _gone._

And she didn't know if they could ever bring him back - no matter how many glimpses of who he used to be he showed her.

 _"_ _Oh,"_ he said in a voice so sweet it was sickening. She could hear the amusement behind it, the cruel intent that echoed of Bill. "I'll show you a monster, Sixer. _I'll show you a monster."_

* * *

 **I don't really have an apology for this.**

 **I may decide to further continue this plotline. I'm not sure yet.**

 **Any who, thanks for reading and reviewing!**


	5. Mabel - Angst, Drama (Part 2)

**Okay! Second part of this AU event, since so many people asked for a part 2!**

 _ **This is a companion to my Walk the Line fic, so please, if you are clicking into this story for the first time, read that first or none of this will make sense!**_

 _ **Also, if you**_ **hav _e read Walk the Line, I am currently in the process of changing Stanley to Grunkle Stan, and Stanford to Author Stan, so these AU's and Oneshots will all refer to Author Stan as Stan_ford.**

 **Chapters will usually vary from 1,000 - 2,000 words.**

 ** _Setting: The chapter the scene takes place within._**

 ** _Characters: Major characters within the chapter._**

 ** _P.O.V?: Who's point of view the chapter is in._**

 ** _AU?: Is the story compliant with the Walk the Line universe?_**

 ** _Chapter Type: What type of chapter is it? (e.g. Angst, Hurt/Comfort etc.)_**

 **Disclaimer: I don't own Gravity Falls!**

* * *

Setting: Not _Walk the Line_ compliant

Characters: Stanford, Stanley, Mabel, Dipper

P.O.V?: Mabel

AU?: Most definitely

Chapter Type: Angst, Drama

Mabel had never run so fast in her entire life. Branches slapped her in the face, clawing and pulling at her sweater as if they were trying to pull her backwards to Dipper.

She didn't want to go back to Dipper.

Great Uncle Ford raced ahead of them, smacking foliage out of their path. She could hear his ragged breathing, could tell he wasn't going to last much longer at this rate. Grunkle Stan ran behind her, a hand on her back as if to remind her that she had to keep going, and that she couldn't stop.

She didn't know if she could continue much more.

It wasn't just the physical fatigue that was getting to her, either. Her heart felt like lead, weighed down by the enormity of what she'd just seen.

Her brother was _gone._

More tears threatened to fall from her eyes, but she stifled them. She couldn't break down – not _now._ Not when the possibility of death loomed over her head so greatly it almost knocked the wind out of here.

"In here!" Stanford suddenly shouted, pushing Mabel sideways through a hole. She threw her arms over her head as she fell through the hole. Sticks and branches turned her sweater to ribbons. She grunted when she splashed into a pond at the bottom. It smelt of rotten eggs and poo – so bad that she retched into it. God, it was so _foul._

From where she sat a frog began to croak at the edge of the murky swamp water. She stared at it as it turned to hopped away. Mabel looked back up through the hole she'd come out of, frowning. Turning her head back towards the frog, she saw it had stopped and was staring at her. It ribbitted at her, before turning and hopping away again. She pulled herself out of the water, crawling out to the edge of it. She spat out the filthy water, then grabbed the taters of her turtleneck so she could pull it off.

Standing, Mabel began to follow the frog, dropping her shredded sweater along the way.

Mabel really had no idea how long she pursued the frog. It continued to hop away from her, pausing to see if she was following every once in a while, before continuing on its way.

She'd dubbed him Croaky, and wherever Croaky was taking her was very much up for debate. The more she travelled behind Croaky, the more of Dipper's mind she saw. More twisted tree, more stinking ponds, more sickening things that she'd never expected to see in her brother's mind.

But she began to notice other things too.

Like the bright pink and purple flowers that sometimes popped up in places they had no business being, and the rare gaps of sunlight that filtered through the trees (even though when she _was_ looking up into the sky, it was night).

And it made her _hope._

Dipper _could_ be saved from…from whatever he'd become. He _could._

She'd kept one of the flowers; tucked in right behind her ear.

Croaky suddenly stopped in front of her outside a wall of curling vines. When she got to close they reared back and snapped fangs at her, before settling back into normal vines.

The frog croaked at her.

"You…want me to go in there?"

He croaked.

"But won't I get hurt?"

Croak.

"Croaky that's rude, you shouldn't say things like that."

Another croak.

"I don't tolerate that type of language…but fine. I'll go."

Mabel steeled herself, facing the wall of vine-snake things, and then ran straight into it. The vines reared up, snapping at her, snapping their fangs _into_ her. She screamed, whacking one with her hand until it let go, tearing and pulling at the others until she was able to burst out onto the other side of the vines. Her breathing was erratic and panicked as she scrambled away from them. They settled down back into normal vines immediately.

And then, all she could see was fire. Bright blue flames that scorched the earth around her, a fire like Bill's – a fire like _Dipper's._

The first thought that ran through her head was that Dipper had found her, that Croaky was a backstabbing fiend. She was all set to run back through the vines when she heard the scream.

" _Bill!"_

She spun around, eyes widening. "Dipper!" His voice was coming from in the fire, but she couldn't tell where. She felt all turned around.

" _Bill! Show yourse-"_ His voice cut off, and fear sprouted in her chest.

She _had_ to find him.

The flames licked at her arms, dancing around her as she ran through them. She needed her brother, she needed her brother, _she needed her brother!_

Her breath choked as she stopped amidst the flames. Her brother sat kneeled on the ground, staring at…at _her._

Mabel daren't breathe.

"Mabel…" He said. His voice shook and quivered, hand reaching out to shake her. "Mabel this isn't _funny._ Mabel _wake up!_ Mabel, _please!"_

When he started to cry, Mabel thought her whole world might implode in on itself.

"Mabel… _don't leave me._ Mabel…oh god, Mabel."

She made to step forward but a snide, sniggering voice caught her attention. stopping in before she could make a move.

"Hard to see, eh Pine Tree?"

Dipper's head snapped up to Bill as Mabel stepped backwards into the fire, staring. She couldn't break her attention away from them. Dipper's voice crumpled up, brows furrowing as a scowl overtook his features. _"You._ You did this!"

"So what if I did?" Bill looked a little smug, circling Dipper.

"You killed her." Her brother sounded stunned, angry. She jolted backwards in a startled realization, covering her mouth with her hand. _Dead._ No wonder he was so distraught.

"I might have."

 _"You KILLED her!" The savage fury in her brother's voice made her flinch – but it was definitely_ _Dipper._ Different to the cold hatred he sent at people now, when he thought no one noticed. Different to the lip curls and eye rolls. This anger belonged all to her _brother - the one she'd lost in the summer._

Maybe he'd gone even earlier than that. She didn't know anymore.

Dipper stood, aiming a punch at Bill but the left hook missed completely. She heard her brother let out an angry cry as Bill snapped his fingers, forcing Dipper back down on his knees, arms locked at his side. His teeth clenched with rage, eyes smouldering on Bill.

She didn't hear what Bill said next, because her eyes had strayed from Dipper and fallen upon her body. It was horrifying in a disembodied kind of way. She knew it was herself, laying slumped up on the ground, brown hair obscuring her face – but if she hadn't known the sweater, one she'd made during fall over Thanksgiving, she wouldn't have recognized herself. She felt oddly disconnected, despite the way her gut churned. She could see her hand lying flat out on the ground.

Not a single finger twitched.

Mabel pushed her fist into her mouth and bit down on her knuckles to stifle the sound that threatened to cut its way from her mouth.

This was _awful._ Was this what her brother saw every day? Her burning?

"Like hell I'd make a deal with you!" Dipper spat at Bill aggressively, drawing her back to reality. His expression was cold and angry; unwavering. His hands clenched up at his sides, shaking like he wanted to move his arms, but unable.

" _Dipper,"_ Bill said a tone that Mabel recognized as a mocking sort of chiding – like the one her mom used on her when she did something wrong. "Think with a clear head for a moment, won't you. This attitude isn't going to get you or your sister anywhere." Bill reached up and tugged on Dipper's arm, pulling him up. Mabel stared with an open mouth as Dipper struggled against Bill, feet kicking out at the air around him.

"Mabel! _Mabel!"_ He shouted. His voice echoed around her as the flames rose higher and higher. Mabel thought she saw Bill's eye fall on her for a brief moment, but she was already buckling to her knees, blocking her ears so she didn't have to hear her brother's scream of rage and anguish – a never ending strangled sound that she _never ever wanted to hear again because her brother was in so much pain and how could she have let this_ happen?

Her heart constricted in her chest as the world rippled around them, and when she lifted her heard again, she was staring at the wall of her closet. She looked through a gap in the door, staring at her own sleeping body.

She decided then and there that the three colors she hated most in the entire world were black, white, and yellow.

Mostly yellow.

Dipper grunted, pulling her attention back to him and Bill. Bill's arm grew in length until it began wrapping around her neck. The version of herself in her bed began to choke, and Mabel's hand flew to her neck, eyes widening in understanding.

Oh. _Oh._

 _I understand now._

It wasn't often that Mabel had nightmares, but that one that night…it had been particularly horrifying. She didn't remember much from it now, but the depth of the blackness was something she would never forget; the claustrophobia she'd felt as she realized she was stuck somewhere she couldn't escape, and she was losing breath fast.

The way she'd called for her brother when she'd thought she'd heard his voice calling for her.

The way she hadn't been able to find him, and that oppressive feeling just kept on getting tighter and tighter and _tighter._

It had been real.

 _How did I miss that this was happening?_

 _Dipper, I'm so sorry._

"Promise me!" Dipper said to Bill. His voice was angry but desperate, and she could just make out the tears falling down his cheeks. "Promise me you won't hurt her!"

Mabel stared at Dipper in horror, pressing her face right against the gap she was watching through.

 _No. Oh no. Dipper don't. Please, don't._

"Sure, Pine Tree! I guess that means we have a deal!"

Mabel felt her legs collapse beneath her as he brother dropped his head, shoulders slumping down as he stared hard at the ground.

"We…we have a deal," Dipper said. His voice was soft, raw, and sad – no, anguished.

She couldn't believe it. She didn't hear whatever it was that Bill said because of the static ringing in her ears.

Dipper had done all of this for her.

He'd done all of this to protect her.

"I'm so sorry, Dipper," she whispered vocally this time. The door in front of her wasn't a supplement for her brother. It couldn't accept her apology, or get angry, or be upset.

No, it was more like Dipper was now than how he had been before. The door was blank. Empty. _Plain_ despite the decorations she'd plastered all across it. The door was full of memories that she'd never understand or ever even know about. "I should have protected you."

 _What type of sister am I?_

With pain lancing its way through her heart she forced herself to stand and leave the closet. Bill and Dipper were gone, and only her and her sleeping body remained. Slowly, Mabel walked over to herself, staring at the sleeping lump in the bed - totally oblivious to what had just transpired not two feet away from her.

 _Useless. You're useless._

She couldn't look at herself anymore – couldn't look at how disgustingly _selfish_ she'd been.

Turning her face away from herself as her expression soured, Mabel clenched her hands into fists and lifted her head.

 _No. Not anymore._

Puffing up her chest and taking a breath, Mabel decided then and there that she'd save Dipper from what he'd become. It was her duty as the older twin to protect him.

And protect him she would.

Until she took her final breath.

* * *

 **Whoo! I actually really enjoyed writing this! I won't be continuing it on from here, but hopefully you all liked it!**

 **Thanks for reading and reviewing!**


	6. Dipper - Angst

**Look at this! I'm finally getting another chapter up!  
**  
 _ **This** **is a companion to my Walk the Line fic, so please, if you are clicking into this story for the first time, read that first or none of this will make sense!**_

 _ **Also, if you**_ **hav _e read Walk the Line, I am currently in the process of changing Stanley to Grunkle Stan, and Stanford to Author Stan, so these AU's and Oneshots will all refer to Author Stan as Stan_ford.**

 **Chapters will usually vary from 1,000 - 2,000 words.**

 ** _Setting: The chapter the scene takes place within._**

 ** _Characters: Major characters within the chapter._**

 ** _P.O.V?: Who's point of view the chapter is in._**

 ** _AU?: Is the story compliant with the Walk the Line universe?_**

 ** _Chapter Type: What type of chapter is it? (e.g. Angst, Hurt/Comfort etc.)_**

 **Disclaimer: I don't own Gravity Falls!**

* * *

Setting: _Walk the Line_ compliant - After Dipper goes into the portal

Characters: Mabel, Dipper, Bill

P.O.V?: Dipper

AU?: No

Chapter Type: Angst (I'm beginning to think this is a recurring theme)

It felt like death - _he_ felt like death.

Maybe he _was_ death.

Or, maybe he was just _dead._ He didn't know if there was a difference, anymore.

Spread all around him was _sterile_ \- and really, that what the color it was. Not white, not a pale yellow, not pearl. Just... _sterile._ It made him feel dirty. Oh so _dirty._

There were so many germs, _so many_ germs and _so much_ filth that the crawling of it all across his skin made him want to wretch - made him want to twitch, and scratch, and scream.

But of course, somewhere within his cracked mind, Dipper knew that it wasn't true.

The germs weren't germs. The filth wasn't filth. The sins were what they were - what the would always be.

And he knew they were not something he could just wash away like dirt from the skin.

Dipper picked himself up off of the ground from where he'd fallen, finding that it took more effort than he'd expected.

Only when he was finally standing, finally _really_ focusing, did he realize that he wasn't standing on flat ground.

The crunch and snap of brittle bones under his feet made sure he wouldn't forget it. Swallowing, Dipper lifted his eyes from below him - really, he didn't want to know where all these bones came from - to roam across the area around him.

It seemed the sterility of this place stretched for miles and miles. He couldn't see another soul - _did he have a soul anymore? Was he human? Was he going to become something like Bill? Or worse?_ \- in any direction. Heck, even the portal wasn't here - he'd half expected it to be surrounded in pieces around him - half expected to get skewered on it, in all honesty.

Maybe it just couldn't exist in a place like this.

Dipper breathed in deeply _\- big mistake big mistake!_ \- feeling like claws, big long _knife_ like ones had begun ripping at his throat, shredding it into tiny ribbons with something so vicious he could barely scream. He dropped back to the ground, clutching at his throat and coughing blood across the pristine bones. His eyes watered, squeezing shut tight as salt sprinkled across his cheeks.

The last thing he heard was a strange gurgling in his throat.

The last thing he saw was _sterile._

* * *

Dipper bolted upright where he lay, wincing against a harsh empty sky.

Around him, wet blood soaked into dry bone.

How long he was out, Dipper didn't know. Can't have been long. This time, he didn't try to breathe.

He pulled his screaming body up into a sitting position before standing, and after a careful moment of thought, Dipper spoke.

"HELLO?" He called loudly. His voice echoed away across the empty plane, becoming so distorted that he almost thought it was some other poor, unfortunate being.

The brief explosion inside of him - happiness, excitement, _hope_ \- that made him dash off in the direction of this _new voice_ quickly deflated, his footsteps slowing until he came to a stop, the flare of brightness drizzling back into despair.

He was alone.

He was alone, but at least Mabel was safe.

He hoped.

Dipper rubbed his arms, chilled by the lifelessness. It was so quiet hear - he didn't think there was actually any sound at all. The... _nothingness_ of it all made him shake. Where was the noise? There had to be _something, somewhere,_ anybody, _ANYTHING!_

He didn't know anything about this place. The realization was like a left hook to the face.

Clearing his throat, but not breathing – _never again_ , Dipper started forward across the barren landscape, the crunch of bones underfoot playing like a melody within the unnatural silence of the place.

Where he was going, Dipper didn't know.

What was going to happen, Dipper didn't know.

 _Near omnipotence my ass._

* * *

He was walking around in circles, he _had_ to be. There was absolutely _no way_ that one sinkhole could look so similar without himself being caught in a loop.

Dipper stopped walking, gazing around with a scrutinizing eye, but he didn't recognize anything else, other than the sinkhole. Now that he thought about it, the sinkhole _could_ have been different, and he _could_ just be losing his mind, _or_ he _could_ have already _lost_ it and he was stuck in this awful loop inside his mind.

Or, he was walking around in _fucking circles._

Paying mind to avoid the sinkhole – he really didn't want a repeat of having his leg torn off. _Not. Pleasant –_ Dipper lay down flat on the bones around him. He could feel a femur digging into his back, but payed it no mind. Instead, he focused his attention on the blank sky above him.

How long had it been, since he'd started walking?

Truly, it felt like years, but he couldn't be sure anymore. The only thing he was sure of was that he was alone. More alone than he'd ever been in his life. He thought he'd known loneliness before – but the isolation, the sadness, the _hopelessness_ was nothing compared to _this._ He didn't know if this loneliness would last forever. What he did know was that he really didn't want it to, wouldn't be able to survive this place if it did.

The silence, in its solitude, was stronger and louder than any true noise he'd ever heard.

Dipper sat up, drawing his legs close to his chest.

"Mabel," he whispered. His voice felt raw and scratchy – how long had it been since he'd used it? "Please be okay." He needed her to be okay. For this to be worth it, he _needed her to be okay._

He lifted his head when he felt a splatter of black rain slide down his cheek like tar, wisps of smoke rising from the skin it touched. The sky remained as empty as ever, but still more of the acid ran down like a punishment, burning against his body, across his arms and through his hair.

It had been a long while since he could find it in himself to care.

* * *

The first time he'd seen Bill, he hadn't even realized at first. All he had seen was a bright flash of yellow, and had hoped that maybe some great sun god was going to eat his soul.

Alas, no such luck.

The second time he'd seen Bill, he'd seen him for what he was – _an evil little shit face that needed to die._

So, like any reasonable person who'd been tossed into a dimension where the ground was littered with bones and the _actual_ ground tried to eat you, he dashed after Bill like a wild bull in pursuit.

Upon impact, he made sure he had the upper hand, throwing the triangular demon to the ground and punching him straight in the centre of his eye.

 _"Ow!_ What was that for?" The demon objected.

"You deserved it you bloody bastard!"

"Woah woah woah _woah!_ _I_ deserve it?! You're the one that tossed me in here in the first place – if anyone should be angry, it should be _me!"_

"Oh go to _hell-"_

"In case you failed to notice, Pine Tree, that's pretty much what this place is," Bill snapped. His eye was half closed, anger glowing within it. "At any rate, what are _you_ even _doing_ here? I thought you'd be celebrating you're _defeat_ of me with _Shooting Star."_ Bill's voice was scathing, but Dipper could sense the underlying curiosity behind it.

"I'm protecting her. From _you."_

Bill shoved Dipper backwards with a sudden blast of magic. He grunted as he crashed into a pile of bones, sending them flying around him.

"You stupid or something, kid? There's no _escaping_ from here. At least not until someone with another dimension jumping portal falls into this place." Judging by Bill's voice, what had happened with Ford wasn't something that happened often.

"So…what you're telling me is… _I didn't even need to be here in the first place?"_

Bill looked rather smug at that, blinking his eye back to normal. He leaned back lazily in the air. "Ha, sure am! You coulda gotten away scot-free, but here ya are! Oh, this is _hilarious!"_

Dipper seethed silently, hands lighting with blue fire. A second later, a blast of fire launched in Bill's direction. The demon yelled as flew backwards through the air uncontrollably. After regaining his balance, his triangular body began to glow red, and he was suddenly throwing himself straight at Dipper. The teen stumbled backwards, regaining his balance only to feel his own hand connect with his cheek, sharp _crack_ echoing around them.

"Why you hitting yourself, why you hitting yourself!" Bill goaded through his own mouth, laughing as he hit him back and forth across his cheeks. He was abruptly rejected from Dipper's body, who grabbed the demon's arm like a discus as he retreated, swinging him around in a circle, gaining traction quickly.

"C'mon kid, lemme go!" Bill complained.

"Okay, sure, I can do that!" Dipper spat as he released him. Bill yelped as he tumbled and turned backwards through the air, throwing a cerulean blue flame straight at Dipper as the sink hole opened itself as Bill fell into it, sharp jagged teeth snapping around him. Gasping as the fireball hit him, Dipper felt himself suck in the unbreathable oxygen.

 _Oh. Not again,_ he thought as the ever reminiscent feeling of jagged claws began to rip down his throat.

He welcomed the blackness.

* * *

When he awoke next, Bill was hovering lightly over the bones in a sitting position, throwing ribs into the sinkhole. It opened and shut around each new piece of skeleton with a sharp _crunch._

Dipper pulled himself up, blinking blearily. He glanced at Bill warily, eyes narrowed.

"What are you still doing here?"

"Kid, you gotta realize something. Being here isn't easy. You're the first being I've seen here since we've arrived."

Dipper stiffened. "What are you suggesting."

"I'm just saying, Pine Tree that it'd be easier if we stayed together – we could be partners, we could find a way to get out of here-"

Dipper blasted him straight back into the sinkhole with a well-aimed shot.

That pattern continued for some time. Bill suggesting they 'team up', Dipper sending him into oblivion for a while. It was bothersome, how persistent he was, but he supposed Bill knew this dimension better than he did – Bill had, after all, taught him how to read the direction he was going. He really _had_ been walking in circles it seemed, and it really was only chance that Bill had found him. Of course, with all the deaths and subsequent returns of Bill at his hands, Bill had given him his fair share. He could barely count the amount of times he'd suffocated, either from breathing the air, or falling under the piles of bones, but Bill had told him rather light-heartedly that he'd really loved seeing Dipper drown in the burning tar pool.

Of course, Dipper was quick to point out Bill had been the one to _push him in._

Their relationship was by no means amicable, but with each passing day and month and year he found that he was getting better at handling him.

The demon had been alone too, after all, and Dipper finally understood just why he had wanted to escape this place in the first place.

He wanted to escape it, too.

No matter how much he wanted to leave, however, he knew that he couldn't. Bill put up a good act, but Dipper knew who he was, and he knew what he would do if he ever got the chance to run amok in his, or another dimension again.

That wasn't going to happen. He wouldn't allow it.

* * *

The first time Dipper truly lost himself was after he'd figured out how to watch Mabel. He'd stumbled across how by accident – had been sitting by the tar pool watching Bill submerge in fire beneath it in boredom when the sudden thought of _Mabel_ became so _unbearably painful_ that he'd felt like the weight in his chest might crush him. He'd stood to leave, but had stopped when the water started to shimmer, the blackness seeming a little vaguer, different colors swirling into the mix until an image had formed.

And there she was – sitting on her bed, headphones on, an old scrapbook in her hands,

He couldn't hear anything, and he really was straining his eyes to see, but it was undoubtedly _her._

"Mabel?" The sound of his own voice shocked him – shaky, a little whiny, fighting back tears.

"Mabel!?" This time, more urgently, dropping back down and crawling closer to the pool of water. He could just make out the tears trickling down her cheeks, and even though he couldn't hear her, the shaking of her shoulders was enough to tell him she was definitely _sobbing._

"Oh no, Mabel, please don't cry. _Please."_ He reached forward, fingers touching the image of her face. His fingers retracted instantly as they sizzled at the tips, the image vanishing. Tears lodged themselves in his throat.

"Mabel? Mabel, no!" He threw himself straight into the pool without even thinking about it, trying to gather the image of her up into his arms but he _couldn't_ and she was _gone_ and he started to _scream and scream_.

He didn't stop until he was buried below the burning black tar, and only when he woke up, good as new, and it all came back to him did he start to _really_ lose it

Bill didn't even make a comment, instead choosing to retreat backwards and watch as Dipper picked up a sharp bone – watch as it began to widdle down to a point. He drifted behind the kid as he walked.

For a long long time, that was all he did. Just walked. He didn't once try to talk, and Bill didn't even try to make a smart comment. He wasn't stupid.

After who knows how long, Dipper was standing over the sinkhole. He bent down suddenly, lifting the whittled bone in his hand, setting it aflame.

Then he started stabbing it hard, screaming with pure _rage_.

"Die! Die die die! You're _worthless,"_ he snarled as the sinkholes teeth snapped at his hand, only to retreat as Dipper ripped one of its fangs straight out of its mouth with a sharp wrench. "NOBODY WILL _EVER_ HELP YOU GET OUT OF HERE SO WHY DON'T YOU JUST DIE!"

Bill hovered behind him as he went back to stabbing the sinkhole – this time with its own tooth.

After some time, Dipper's screams dwindled into sobs. He dropped the tooth from him hand, the bone white fang stained with red. The sinkhole was still, not even attempting to swallow him up like it had before. He could feel his heart beating hard in his chest, but that too was slowing down. When he looked around him, he couldn't see Bill. He wondered if he'd attacked him in his anger.

Pulling himself up, Dipper cleared his throat, rubbing his arm over his eyes. He started walking back the way he'd come, shoulders hunched.

He _just wanted to see Mabel again.  
_

* * *

The second time he saw her, he was much more himself. It had been intentional this time – he'd found a suitable skull, whittled it into a bowl, and gathered in some of the black tar water.

Then, he'd thought about Mabel – his sister, who he missed _so badly._ His sister, who he'd do this all again for.

He hadn't dared to hope it would work, so when it did, the hope that filled his heart flourished two sizes bigger.

Dipper wasted no time in looking at her face, her surroundings, her clothes…

She didn't look that great.

The first thing he noticed was that she didn't look as old as he _thought_ she would. Fourteen, at most,

Surely not…she must have been seventeen by now, right?

 _Right?_

He threw that thought away for the moment, because her age wasn't what really bothered him – it was how she _looked._ Her expression bore no sign of a smile – in fact, she wasn't even frowning. She just looked _blank._ Totally. Blank. Her eyes were far away, glossed over. That seemed like Mabel – always in her own little world, but everything else did not.

He took in what little of her surroundings he could – some other boys and girls sat around her.

Was she in school? It certainly seemed like it, at any rate, but Mabel didn't seem to be paying attention.

"Oh, come on, Mabel, I didn't give up for this," he whispered softly.

Bill snorted. "Aw, poor little Shooting Star." He touched the sides of his triangle, like a thought suddenly occurred to him. "What's she gonna do at Christmas without her Pine Tree?"

Dipper threw him into the tar pit.

* * *

The third time he saw her, Dipper was alone. He'd gotten better at noticing the way days passed now, and he didn't know whether that should concern him or not.

By his calculations, she should be fifteen now – it was strange to think about, how he could think so much time had gone by and she had barely aged. Of course, he'd done little check-ups every so often, but after seeing the same thing over and over again – that blank, glassy face – he'd stopped. He couldn't forgive himself for causing this. He wanted her bright, sticker covered face. He wanted her happiness, so it was with a fearful reluctance that he looked onto her again.

Dipper was pleasantly surprised by the change he saw.

Mabel was sitting at a picnic table, chatting away amicably with a small group of girls. Across the table there were books of what looked like…math?

Wait. Was Mabel _willingly doing math?_

Her hands flew into the air suddenly, drawing his attention back to her as a smile spread across her face. The other girls seemed to be laughing in response.

He was keenly aware of how desperately he wanted to hear what they were laughing about.

Dipper felt numb – but it wasn't the numb of emptiness, or the tingling numb of pain that he'd learned to ignore.

It was a _happy_ numb. A _longing_ numb.

"I'm so proud of you, Mabes," he whispered to the bowl. "So, _so_ proud."

A _proud_ numb.

Dipper touched the bowl lightly, tracing his fingers over the hollowed out rim of the skull.

It felt like a great weight had been expelled off his shoulders.

He felt...well…not happy.

But for the first time in a long time, everything didn't feel quite so bad.

* * *

 **Happy Holidays everyone! Whether you're celebrating Christmas, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa, something else or nothing at all, I wish you all luck in the New Year! This is just a little gift to one of my followers who asked to know what happened to Dipper between entering the portal and to when we see him next - these are just some short snippets of different moments, so hopefully it will suffice!**

 **Thanks to everyone who's been reading and reviewing, it all means so much to me!**


	7. Mabel - Angst, HurtComfort

**Perhaps the most volatile response from my Walk the Line story has been 'Please write a sequel where Dipper comes back,' or 'What? You can't just leave Dipper inside the Portal!' and for quite some time, I've been adamant against writing this plot point. You see, in my canon ending, Dipper never comes back. Mabel and Dipper never see each other again. Mabel learns that life has to go on, and that you can't live life stuck within your sweater. Dipper knows this, and he knows he won't be coming back, so he settles with what he can get; the knowledge that she is alive and safe.**

 **But, I recently had a reviewer who sent me an idea – "Somehow; not even Dipper knew how it happened – all the Pines family from Gravity Falls (Stan, Ford, Mabel, and Dipper) dream-linked, and it was the first time they'd spoken in five/six years, and the last time they'd ever get to speak again before Ford, Stan, and Mabel died and (I'm just assuming here) Dipper is left as some immortal being, and they all knew it. (Set the first night Mabel is in Gravity Falls after the end of WtL)."**

 **Now, you have to believe me here when I say I have** _ **tried and tried**_ **to write an AU event that revolves around Dipper coming back out of the portal, but every time I write it my words don't flow properly, and I end up hating everything I've written. I never finish writing up the event before I delete it.**

 **So this is my solution to all of my reviewers who asked for this event – and I think it's a wonderful idea. As soon as I received the request ideas started to pop into my head, and I just had to get the writing down on a page. I know it's not what people asked for, but I hope this will give some sort of closure to those that read WtL and wanted more.**

 **I decided to put this fic both in my _Walk the Line AU's and Oneshots_ so that those that reviewed asking for a chapter where Mabel and Dipper see each other again can enjoy it, rather than just those who read my _AU's and Oneshots._**

 **I would also like to thank my beta reader PhoenixWillowsRox88 for cleaning up my writing and such - you should all check out her stories!**

 **Much appreciated,**

 **Filthy Mallards.  
** _ **This** **is a companion to my Walk the Line fic, so please, if you are clicking into this story for the first time, read that first or none of this will make sense!**_

 _ **Also, if you**_ **hav _e read Walk the Line, I am currently in the process of changing Stanley to Grunkle Stan, and Stanford to Author Stan, so these AU's and Oneshots will all refer to Author Stan as Stan_ford.**

 **Chapters will usually vary from 1,000 - 2,000 words.**

 ** _Setting: The chapter the scene takes place within._**

 ** _Characters: Major characters within the chapter._**

 ** _P.O.V?: Who's point of view the chapter is in._**

 ** _AU?: Is the story compliant with the Walk the Line universe?_**

 ** _Chapter Type: What type of chapter is it? (e.g. Angst, Hurt/Comfort etc.)_**

 **Disclaimer: I don't own Gravity Falls.**

* * *

Setting: Not _Walk the Line_ compliant

Characters: Mabel, Dipper, Stan, Ford

P.O.V?: Mabel

AU?: Yes

Chapter Type: Angst/Hurt/Comfort

The wheels of the old car churned up so much dust Mabel almost couldn't see the old shack she'd just pulled up in front of.

She didn't need to see the building in front of her, to feel the heaviness in her chest – both good and bad.

Sitting back, she turned the key off and stared at the smeary dust across her windscreen as the soft rumbles of her car died down.

"Well…here we go," she said to herself, grabbing onto the door handle.

She promptly pulled her hand back off, settling it on her lap with the other, twisting them together. Her nails were painted a sparkly purple, so glittery they kind of hurt her eyes if she stared for too long.

Her eyes were beginning to tingle with something that wasn't pain.

How long had it been since she'd last been to Gravity Falls? Five years? It certainly felt like a lot longer.

The ache in her chest refused to go away. Even though grime slashed its way across her view, she could still see the two children running out the front of the Mystery Shack – one boy, one girl. Both brown haired. One with a hat, another a headband. Both laughing.

The odd coughing, choking noise that yanked itself out of her throat blew the apparition away.

Finally, grabbing her courage, Mabel unbuckled herself and pushed the car door open. The fresh Oregon air was…well, it was like a breath of fresh air. She'd missed this – she much preferred it over the clogged, stale air in California.

She slammed the door shut after pulling the lever to the trunk, hearing the soft beeping indicating it had been opened. Walking around her car, she started gathering her bags – a small blue duffel, and a fat red suitcase with white ladybug spots peppered all over it. She pulled the duffel strap over her shoulder, and put the suitcase down, pulling the long handle up so she could drag it around. She shut the trunk of her car, pivoting on her heels to stare at the Shack before her.

It was pleasing to see nothing had changed outside – the totem pole still stood strongly, a silent watcher, and she could see that the broken middle step was still broken.

"Mabel!" A gravelly voice called out to her. A smile broke out onto her face as she saw the old man walking quickly towards her. The fine lines on her Grunkle's face were finer than ever, but the grin on his face said that he couldn't care less.

"Grunkle Stan! It's so good to see you!" Mabel said exuberantly, rushing over to him. She let go of her suitcase's handle to wrap her arm tight around him. No, it wasn't _good_ to see him – it was _great_ to see him. The relationship between her parents and her uncles was still rocky at best, so she hadn't had all that much of a chance to speak to them at her Graduation – simply a few words here and there before she was whisked away by her parents to go talk to some _other_ people. She understood their feelings, of course. The pang was always there, after all. A constant reminder that there _should_ have been a snarky butthole standing next to her being a...well, a snarky butthole.

Unlike her parents, she didn't blame Grunkle Stan and Great Uncle Ford for what happened to Dipper. What happened had been Dipper's doing. Not anyone else's.

Pulling away, Mabel said, "You haven't changed."

"Heh. Speak for yourself. Not so little anymore, sweetie." Stan's voice was fond, and it pulled a bigger smile across Mabel's lips.

"Nope! I'm five foot seven!" The traitorous part of her brain wondered how tall Dipper would have been – would she have been taller than him? Shorter? How did being stuck in another dimension affect someone's height, if at all?

Stan patted her shoulder lightly, taking her ladybug suitcase inside for her. The closer they got to the gift shop entrance, the more Stan began to fidget. Mabel's brows furrowed. Was he not telling her something?

Just before they walked inside, Stan paused, holding the door handle. "We uh...well, Ford and I got pretty busy while you were growin' up, you see…an' uh…" He trailed off, shaking his head. "Well. Best you see it for yourself." He pushed the door open, leading her inside. Mabel's breath sucked in hard, her eyes wide.

For what would have seemed like such a small, insignificant change to a passing customer, the fact that the vending machine had been moved was like having ice poured over her head. Only because she _knew_ what was behind the covered wall - a wall so exactly the same to the rest of the gift shop – could she tell the wall paper was out of place. Stan walked over to the wall, placing his hand over it. Where she'd half expected to see his hand fall through the wallpaper, flat wall met it instead.

"What…how…?" She breathed, mouth opening and shutting like a fish out of water.

"We filled in the stairway with concrete," Grunkle Stan explained. "With the portal gone…there really wasn't much of a point in keepin' the area open any longer."

She clenched her hand around the strap of her duffel. "You did this for me, didn't you?"

"We knew when you came back you wouldn't want…that around," Ford explained as he walked into the room. His face was a little disgruntled – like he had really opposed the idea, but had gone through with it anyway. "We want you to feel as comfortable as possible, Mabel."

Shifting her bag over to the other shoulder so it went across her body, she smiled. "Thanks…I really appreciate it," she said honestly.

A slightly awkward silence spread out around them for a few seconds, the clock on the wall ticking slowly by. Finally, Grunkle Stan straightened. "You'll have Ford's room for the time being, so-"

"No," Mabel interrupted.

"No?" Great Uncle Ford echoed.

"No. I want the attic."

The two brothers glanced at each other, like they would have preferred another idea entirely, so she pressed a bit more incessantly.

"Look…I know you want me to be comfortable. But this is my first time being back here since…since he vanished." Now that she was _here, inside the place_ he had disappeared from, she couldn't rouse the courage to say Dipper's name out loud. Breathing deeply, she lifted her head strongly, clenching her jaw. "And I'm not going to completely move past this if I'm getting coddled the whole time." They still looked uncomfortable. _"Please let me do this."_

Grunkle Stan finally conceded with a slight nod. "I guess if that's want you want-"

"It is."

"-then we can't really argue with it."

Her success didn't pull a smile over her mouth, though she did nod.

"Thank you." She reached forward to take her suitcase from Stan, who handed it over with a quick, worried look. "I don't know how long I'll be up there…but I'd very much like it if we could play some poker after dinner. My game face has gotten so good I'll rob the both of you blind!"

Grunkle Stan's chest puffed with pride as she headed out of the gift shop and up the stairs. "That's my girl!" He called after her.

Mabel mustered a small smile to herself, keeping it tight lipped across her face as she walked upstairs, listening to the old creaking of each step under her feet. With every step forward, her shoes began to feel like they were filling with lead, and the feeling in her chest began to grow until it was an eighty pound weight inside of her.

And then the door to their bedroom – no. Not theirs, hers - loomed in front of her like a giant. How she'd managed to move forward with so much weight was beyond her level of scientific understanding, but since when did science really make any sense in Gravity Falls? Her hand had barely touched the handle before she was bursting into silent tears, feeling the weight lift from her stomach, the lead drizzle from her shoes.

She threw her suitcase and duffel onto the floor, staring at the single bed pressed against one wall. It felt empty without his bed there, too.

She hit the door shut with a single clenched fist, smiling bitterly, angrily, sadly. Every single emotion in the emotional spectrum that there was, she was sure she felt at that moment – even the happier ones she could feel tingling through her entire being.

 _Damn it._

"Dipper you big goof."

Mabel flopped down onto the bed, staring at the roof, and let her tears fall around her.

* * *

Dinner was a quiet affair. Grunkle Stan suggested they should go to Greasy's Diner tomorrow for breakfast, to which Great Uncle Ford agreed to. He said it would be a good way for her to reconnect with her old friends.

Mabel wasn't stupid. She knew they just wanted her to get out of the house – and getting out of this house was something she wouldn't mind, to be honest. There were a few people she wanted to see, some places she wanted to visit, memories she wanted to suck up and breathe in and live all over again – the good and the bad.

Not long after ten o'clock she slipped away from the old Ducktective reruns she and her great uncles had been watching and walked upstairs to the attic, feigning tiredness. They looked like they believed her as much as Stan believed in the government's competency, but they didn't say anything and let her slip away.

Mabel _really_ hadn't meant to fall asleep, but as soon as she had changed into her dressing gown and socks, pulled the covers over herself, and let her head hit the pillow, she was out for the count.

* * *

Mabel was…confused. Was she dreaming? Was she conscious she was dreaming? The field she was lying in was soft with bouncy flowers, flowers that were all sorts of different shades of white and gray and black.

 _Oh dear god, no!_

She scrambled up into a sitting position, her hair poofing up stressfully. She could almost hear the nasally, nasty laugh; could almost see that sickly yellow glowing in her vision.

Footsteps behind her caught her attention, and she launched herself up into a standing position, spinning around quickly. The battle inside of her head trying to dictate whether she fight or flee died a little when she saw Great Uncle Ford rushing through the field towards her.

"Great Uncle Ford? What's going on?" She asked, panicking at the expression on his face. He was pale and grim, glancing around suspiciously. "Is it…do you think it's Bill?"

"No! No…that's impossible. You know as well as I do that he's gone." She didn't know whether he was trying to convince her or himself.

"But, Great Uncle Ford-!" She began, breaking off when she noticed her Grunkle Stan walking over to them, rubbing his back. "Bloody back," he grumbled. "I'm too old for this crap."

Mabel frowned with concern, opening her mouth to speak, but a soft, slightly awkward chuckle caught her attention. "To be fair, I barely understand any of this, either." The voice struck a nerve in her, a voice so different that it should have belonged to a stranger, yet one she knew instinctively – one that ran straight down through her core.

 _No. No. No no no no no, it can't be…_ Mabel felt her breath drawn in in a hard gasp. She didn't want to turn around. _It's a lie, it's a lie, it's a lie._ Nevertheless, the open mouth of Grunkle Stan and white expression spreading over Great Uncle Ford's face half forced her to. She was scared of who she would see standing behind her – scared it wouldn't be what she expected; what she hoped.

But then she actually _saw_ him, and all of her misgivings fell away like pieces from a broken window. She found she didn't _care_ how different he might be – just that he was _there_ and he _still existed._

Her brother was definitely older, that was for sure – nothing like the thirteen year old who'd been ripped away from her five years ago. His face was a little frosted over and distant, but his eyes were warm puddles of chocolate. Not yellow with black slits for pupils, like she'd half feared. Not some weird combobulation of the two. Even though they were reflected back from within the body of someone she decidedly had never met before, it was definitely him.

It was all him.

Finally, her lungs reminded her to _breathe Mabel, breathe,_ and she barely managed to choke out, "Dipper?"

A smile tugged at his lips and he sucked in a large breath of air, as if he'd been deprived of it for too long. When he spoke his voice was so _light_ and it still kinda broke a little bit, and it was a voice she never thought she'd ever get to hear again. "Mabel," he whispered, like he himself couldn't believe what was happening, and then the smile had cracked right across his face in a way that made her think it was a very rare thing to see.

Mabel didn't think she'd every run so fast in her life, her feet tearing into the flowers and crunching them down under her feet as she flung herself into her brother's arms, her sobs flowing like screams. She felt solid – _solid_ – arms wrap around her, pulling her into a hug so tight she felt the air push out of her again. She didn't care that her breathing was barely breathing, that her body was shuddering and shaking. If Dipper hadn't been holding her, she knew she would have been on the ground.

"Dipper, oh _Dipper,_ you dweeb, I can't believe it's you! It's really you," she managed out after her cries subsided a bit. She pulled her head back from where it had pushed into his shoulder, rubbing the sleeve of her sweater against the soaking wet patch of shirt. "Sorry," she found herself mumbling, mentally berating herself. Finally, a reunion with her brother and she was trying to flood the place?

 _Good job, Mabel. Way to spoil the moment, you big goof._

"It's okay," Dipper said, his voice holding remnants of what could have been a laugh, but had fallen short. He stepped away from her, just enough so that he could look her over while still holding her shoulders. His eyes were full of a dark intensity as he scrutinized her, like he was noting every fine line in her face, every strand of hair, every single change up close like she was some precious jewel that had to be carefully preserved. Finally, he backed off, the smile on his face falling into something akin to relief. "It's good to see you. So good," he added, finally dropping his hands from her shoulders to rub his neck. "I…don't really understand how this happened-" Mabel thought she saw Ford's back straighten, like he was suddenly interested, not just gobsmacked, as well.

"It's really you?" She repeated.

He wasn't smiling anymore, the frosty disposition clouding over his face again, but the look in his eyes hadn't changed. Not once. "It's really me."

"You…look different," she said lamely, broaching the only subject the came to mind at that moment.

"It's called aging, Mabel, I take it you haven't looked in a mirror for the past..." His nose scrunched up, like he was concentrating really hard. "…five years?"

"I didn't know…I didn't know that you would too," she finally admitted, watching the way a single eyebrow arched at her. "You know…grow up."

His expression was instantly unreadable – not only was the door to his face slammed shut, but the windows over his eyes had drawn as well. She felt it like a sharp stab in the heart. He was here, but he wasn't. It was him, her lovable, chivalrous, dorky brother, but it wasn't. Finally taking a proper, actual look at him, she saw how guarded Dipper was – not at her, she knew. The way he'd looked at her before, as if he was seeing the stars for the first time, told her that. He just seemed abnormally suspicious of everything in general. His body looked coiled to spring into action, and whenever his fingers twitched, little blue sparks flittered around them. She _especially_ didn't like that. From the way her uncles moved and shuffled behind her, she could tell they didn't either.

"I don't think I have to age, to be completely honest with you. But it seems to be a subconscious thought. To grow up with you," Dipper finally explained.

"Oh." She didn't know whether that idea made her feel better or worse.

Dipper messed up her hair lightly, and she finally noticed with an annoyed grumble that he was taller than her.

 _Aw. Butthole._

Stepping away from her and looking at Grunkle Stan and Great Uncle Ford – more specifically at Ford, Dipper stated rather than asked, "You have questions."

Ford didn't waste time, starting in on Dipper rather violently. "Where are we? Where is Bill? Is he with you? Did you make this place? How is this happening? Are you a dream demon, too?"

To his credit, Dipper seemed mostly unfazed by the questions. She thought she noticed an annoyed furrow in his brows at the last one, though it could have also been a condescending glare. She didn't know. Counting off on his fingers, Dipper said, "This is the Dreamscape, I'm about ninety-nine point nine percent sure of it. Bill is probably...around. I didn't make this place. Not sure how this is happening, to be honest with you - and hey, that's offensive, do I _look_ like a demon, smart guy?" She smiled a little when she saw that he barely resisted rolling his eyes, but it fell quickly as she picked up on what he'd said. She could feel her heartbeat thumping in her chest rather violently as images of the yellow triangular demon flashed through her mind.

"Wait, what do you mean Bill is around?" Mabel said quickly. Dipper waved his hand flippantly, like it wasn't a big deal. "He comes and goes, y'know? He's probably spying on us right now, but eh, I doubt he'd try anything fishy."

Mabel decided to take Dipper's word for it.

Grunkle Stan rubbed his chin, standing quickly in front of Ford as he opened his mouth to begin speaking again, drawing Dipper's attention to him. "You…uh, you shaped up pretty good kid, just like your Grunkle." he said, clearing his throat. "Looks like all that toughenin' you up payed off."

"Yeah, sure, Grunkle Stan," he said. He grinned like a wolf, but Mabel could tell it was half-forced. "You and your lessons, eh?" There was an awkward lilt to his voice, and the grin on his face twisted into a more wistful smile. "…been a long time since those."

"Sure has been, Dipper." His voice was gruff, but taunt, arms crossed over his chest. He wouldn't meet Dipper's eyes.

"You gonna have a cry, Grunkle Stan?" Mabel asked cheerfully.

"No!" He snapped back vehemently. "…just got somethin' in my eye's all." Under his breath, she heard him mutter, _"Ruddy kids."_

Dipper rubbed the back of his neck. Mabel shivered as his posture slumped. He looked a lot more haggard when he did, shriveling like a prune. A raw sadness had drizzled into his eyes; going from pools of melted, gooey milk chocolate to hard refrigerated blocks in a matter of seconds. He straightened back up, hands clenching into fists.

And even though Mabel didn't know this new version of her brother, and even though she really wanted to, she knew what he was going to say before he said it. She spoke before he could, her voice small.

"This is the last time we'll ever get to see you. Isn't it?" It felt like a hundred dumbbells had dropped onto her shoulders. She heard the hard clearing of Grunkle Stan's throat, and felt the clear silence of Great Uncle Ford's stare.

Dipper's jaw worked slowly, his hands shoved into his pockets. He viciously kicked at the ground, sending dirt and flowers everywhere. "It's too dangerous for you to be here. I honestly don't understand what's going on, or how you got here…only that it can't be good. If you're here, then that means Bill has an opportunity to start afresh. I can't afford for that to happen. Everything…everything would be pointless if he got that opportunity."

Mabel found herself nodding at her feet. She imagined an earthquake rattling the world around her, cracking open the earth and swallowing her whole.

For a second – no, a third time, really, she was losing her brother.

"We could…we could help you figure it out, though?" She tried to argue, but even she knew it was meek. Searching Dipper's face, the only response she got was a blank denial. The door and windows were just shut – no, they'd been dead bolted with a lock and key.

She _wished_ she had a key.

"You can't help me. Not now, not ever," he stated firmly, jaw clenched.

"But…" She looked around desperately – for anything, _anything,_ that she could use for an argument. "Uh…Ford! Great Uncle Ford, you could help him, right?" Ford's face wasn't forthcoming, and she felt the last flame of resilience in her chest extinguish, hands falling to her sides. "…right?"

"Mabel, I'm sorry but this is far beyond even me," he said. "We can't risk Bill escaping, not for anything." Dipper was nodding in agreement, determined.

Mabel turned to look at her brother. His eyes were searching her face, shoulders hunched defensively. They slumped out of surprise when she finally said, "…Dipper? Do what you have to do. We can't stop you." He looked like he'd expected her to keep fighting. She heaved in one great big gulp of air, before throwing her arms around him in a bear hug, pinning his arms to his sides.

"Mabel, you're squishing me-"

"Go be a hero, for your big sister, or I'll…or I'll build myself a portal just so I can punch you through it. Okay?"

She heard the smile in his voice as he said, "…Uh, please don't."

Grunkle Stan smacked him on the back. "When you see Bill, d'ya mind giving him the ol' left hook for your Grunkle Stan? Wish I coulda landed one on him myself."

"Sure, Stan. I'll punch him into a circle if that's what it takes."

"Now you're talking kid, might make a bruiser outta you yet," and then Stan was hugging Dipper too, and when she looked at him, he gave her the barest hint of a sad smile. Her own smile was a clone of his own, except she could feel the tears spilling down her cheeks, instead of suppressed like his.

He sure talked tough, but Stan was a real softy when it came down to it.

"…can't…breathe," Dipper choked out.

Her own breath caught when she felt a hesitant, six fingered hand rest on Dipper's shoulder. She felt her brother freeze, all complaints gone as he cast a look towards Great Uncle Ford.

"I'm…proud of you, Dipper," he said after a moment. Dipper just stared. "You remind me of myself, but…you did what I couldn't do. Thank you."

"I'm sorry things turned out this way," Dipper murmured after a moment.

"I am, too."

Finally, Ford pulled his hand back, and Stan backed away, fixing his glasses on his face. Dipper wriggled out of her hold, stepping backwards.

"I wish we could talk for longer, but it just isn't safe," he said. His voice had tensed again. Back to business, she supposed. "I'll do what I can to stimulate you all awake, so concentrate as hard as you can on waking up, okay? Try not to sleep for the rest of the night. I'll try to patch up whatever the hell is going on here, and I don't want to risk any of you returning here before I get the chance." His gaze moved over each of them until they nodded. Mabel felt her head jolt up and down reluctantly.

His hand flared with blue fire, and slowly he began to spin his fingers until the fire had pulled taunt into a soft thread of flame that danced through each digit.

"Goodbye," she heard Dipper say. His voice was as tight as the hand clenching around her heart. "And hey, just remember...I'm always watching." A soft chuckle laced through his voice.

The last thing she saw was a slash of cerulean wrapping across her vision.

* * *

Mabel jolted awake in her bed with a harsh gasp, clutching at her chest. Her heartbeat pounded like fists against her rib cage, as if she'd just gone for a sprint.

She slid out of bed, feet hitting the floor as she scrambled to turn the lantern on. Shielding her eyes against the harsh artificial light of the bulb inside it, she checked the time.

 _Four a.m. Yeesh._

It took her some time to process what had just happened, that after all these years, her brother had been standing in front of her.

But now he was gone again, reopening old wounds along with it.

And yet…and yet she felt _good_. She felt good knowing that even though he was different, he hadn't become a monster like Bill. He was still her brother, and he still loved her and Grunkle Stan, and even Ford.

Her eyes slowly adjusted to the light streaming into the room, and she sat on the floor, pulling her nightgown over her knees.

"Goodbye, Dipper," she said softly, pulling her arms out of the sleeves of the gown so they flopped around uselessly. She smiled, resting her chin on her knees. "Goodbye."

* * *

 **Phew. Done. This. Is. Done. I've been working on this for a while, and I am very relieved to finally have gotten it up on here. Again, I want to thank my beta reader PhoenixWillowsRox88, and to all my reviewers, I want to thank you for reading and telling me your thoughts.**

 **Until next time,**

 **FilthyMallards.**


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